146 players came to the 2013 Pittsburgh Open, held
March 1-3 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree, Pennsylvania.Players
went through a lot just to get to their boards: freezing temperatures,
intermittent snow and snarled traffic on several highways leading to the site.

No matter how cold the weather is outside, though,
the Pittsburgh Open is known for delivering its share of hot surprises in its
final results.Two years ago, NM Kevin
Cao tied for first with GMs Alexander Shabalov and Alexander Ivanov.This year, three grandmasters - hometown hero
Shabalov, GM Alex Yermolinsky, and a surprise in Turkish GM Suat Atalik, in the
US prior to his Russian League season - came to town intending to bag some
bucks.

GMs Shabalov, Yermolinsky & Atalik

However, the grandmasters didn't exactly have it all
their own way.IM Chiel van Oosterom, a
graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, held GM Atalik to a draw in
round 2.This set up a third round
matchup on Board 1 between Shabalov and FM Thomas Bartell.These same players clashed in last year's
Pittsburgh Open - and, like last year, Shabalov won to move to 3-0.He was joined on 3 points by NM Kristopher
Meekins of Ohio, who announced his presence by knocking out two-time US
champion Yermolinsky.

Going into Sunday's fourth round, Meekins, also the 2010 National High School Champ was paired
on board 1 against Shabalov. Meanwhile the first all-GM game of the tournament
featured Atalik as white against Yermolinsky on board 2.Meekins managed to draw against the four-time
US champion as they both retained their lead.Yermolinsky was in a tough spot - he had to play the Black pieces, and
was a half point behind Atalik, who himself trailed the leaders by a half
point.No GM draws in this round!Atalik beat Yermolinsky to put himself in the
lead pack.

In the last round, Shabalov and Atalik drew quickly
on board 1 to reach 4 points.On board
two, van Oosterom had white and 3 points against Meekins's 3.5 points.Meekins, seeded 10th at the start of the
event, held the draw against van Oosterom and punched his ticket to the winners'
circle.

This left NM Safal Bora to try and win against
Cleveland veteran NM Pappu Murthy on board 3.The last piece of the Pittsburgh Open puzzle dropped into place when
Murthy resigned.

Shabalov, Meekins, Atalik and Bora tied for first
overall.They each won $664.25.Shabalov played by far the toughest schedule
(he played against all of the other 4-pointers), so he collected the $86
winner's bonus.

IM Chiel van Oosterom and former National High School champ Kristopher Meekins.

In the Under 2100 section, John Ahlborg recorded the
only 5-0 score in the entire tournament.In the Under 1800 section, Mark Milkovich swept his first four games,
then shook hands quicklyin round 5 to
lock up that first prize.In the Under
1500 section, Tony Qin won his last-round game to take undivided first
place.Finally,Pradeepraj Thiyagarajan
and Michael Mount used their 4.5-0.5 scores to split top prize in the Under
1200 section.

Players enjoyed the quality atmosphere of the hotel
(even with its eight-figure renovation project underway - perhaps the free
signature DoubleTree cookies helped!).The tournament generally ran on time, and there were no major
issues.

The Continental Chess Association sponsored the
tournament.Andrew Rea and Boyd Reed
were the tournament directors.Lary Rust
and The House of Chess provided the chess concession.CCA looks forward to next year's Pittsburgh
Open.

A complete list of prize winners is below. Also,
please enjoy Atalik's win over Yermolinsky with variations by Atalik.